44 Interesting Facts about Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a South African country located between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. The country has 16 official languages.

Here are 44 interesting facts about Zimbabwe, its history, people, Victoria Falls and much more…

1. The first people of the country were the Bantu-speaking Iron Age farmers that settled in the region around AD 300.

2. ‘Mount Inyangani,’ at 2,592 meters, is the highest point in the country.

3. The capital Harare was formerly called Salisbury in 1890 in honor of the British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury.

4. The country is void of any place that can properly be called desert. However, a few regions in the country are severely arid.

5. The lowest point in Zimbabwe lies at an altitude of 660 feet near Dumela, where the Limpopo flows into Mozambique.

6. Zimbabwe is a landlocked plateau country.

Interesting facts about Zimbabwe: Landlocked Zimbabwe

7. The name of the country was derived from the fortified trading hub, Great Zimbabwe, which was built in medieval times and was used by the people of the ‘Shona’ tribe. The people of this tribe constitute about 70% of the country’s current population.

14. Power cuts, which can last up to 3 hours or more, are quite frequent and random in the country.

15. Zimbabwe has the lowest life expectancy in the world. Females can expect to live 34 years and males survive for 37 years, on average.

16. As per data (UNICEF, 2012), more than 1.4 million people in the country are living with AIDS.

17. The ‘mbira’, which is a small hand-held instrument, has been played for more than 1,000 years in Zimbabwe. This instrument is also commonly referred to as a ‘thumb piano.’

18. Mwari is the name of the deity of the Shona tribespeople in Zimbabwe. They have been believing in this deity for centuries.

19. Zimbabwe is suffering from shortage of health care professionals. Many of the country’s health care professionals left Zimbabwe in search of better opportunities elsewhere in the world. Spiritual healing advice is still used by many people for minor and major ailments.

20. HIV/AIDS is prevalent in the country, and has been cited as the cause of death of thousands of people in the last few years.

21. Cholera and malaria are two major diseases in the country. Malaria is prevalent in low-lying border areas. More than 760,000 cases of malaria were reported by WHO in 2009, while one third of its minor population suffers from chronic malnutrition.

22. Zimbabweans see large stomachs on men as a sign of wealth. This indicates that the person is financially sound enough to eat meat daily.

23. Divorce is a stigma in the country. Women are allowed to get divorced, but this is uncommon.

24. In terms of the land area Zimbabwe covers, it is three times the size of England.

10 Interesting facts about Victoria Falls

25. The largest waterfall in the world, Victoria Falls, is located on the Zambezi River. It is the world’s only waterfall that is wider than a kilometer and has a height of more than one hundred meters.

26. The noise of Victoria Falls can be heard from a distance of 40 kilometers.

27. You can notice spray and mist from the falling water from a height of 400 meters, and it can be seen from a distance of 50 kilometers.

28. Mosi-O-Tunya is the name given to the falls by the local tribe. It translates to ‘The smoke that thunders.’

29. The waterfall was named after Queen Victoria by well-known explorer of Africa David Livingstone (1813-1873).

31. The waterfall started attracting tourists between 1905, when a railway to Bulawayo was constructed, and the 1960s when a guerilla struggle in Zimbabwe threatened visitors entering the country. However, after independence, the waterfall started attracting tourists in large numbers once again.

32. The waterfall is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the people from both countries – Zambia and Zimbabwe – are actively participating to develop tourism in the region.

33. During floods, the water flow capacity can reach approximately half a million liters per minute.

34. October and early November see the lowest level of water flow in the falls.

5 facts about hunger in Zimbabwe

35. An estimated 1.5 million people are projected to be “food insecure” during the 2015-2016 lean season.

36. Chronic malnutrition causes 28% of children under the age of five to experience stunted growth (low height for their age).

37. 76% of the country’s rural households live on less than $1.25 per day.

38. Zimbabwe is ranked 156 out of 187 developing countries on the Global Hunger Index. It is a low-income and food-deficit country.

39. Only 17.3% of Zimbabwean children between the ages of 6 and 23 months receive the recommended minimum diet for adequate nutrition.

57.95 years (2016)
Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.

Borders

Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Namibia

Religion

Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism and Methodism.

Currency

United States dollar

Terrain

mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east

10 COMMENTS

A bunch of these “facts” are opinions to be direct. Being a Zimbabwean and living in Zimbabwe this information is largely outdated, inaccurate and overall misleading. E.g this is mistaken “Zimbabweans see big stomach in men as a sign of wealth. This indicates that the person is financially sound to eat meat daily”. I suggest the editors look into redoing a proper fact file with verified information.

Comment:
Some facts are true,some are surprising, some are slightly off, some are fact of opinion.
also take note.
1.Kariba is a Dam not a river.
2.the literacy rate is now over 90% and is currently the highest in africa.
3.religion also includes adventism & islam. by general observation the country with the highest adoption of Christianity, with fewer to no athiests and a low number of muslim.
4.has four major cities Harare, Bulawayo,Gweru,Mutare and Masvingo in that order.
5.Contray to most but not all Westerners, Zimbabweans dont hate “white” people they hate anyone with hypocrisy,supriority tendencies, injustice, violence, racists and manipulation. the cases that involve violence against “white” people were conduct by a few extremists,hence violence against foriegners is not a common thing.(infact i challenge you do do your own survey now).
6. Dispite the obvious existence of murderous criminals and ritualists , most common Zimbabweans believe in total absolute peace and have a high regard for life.
7. Dispite bieng highly literate most Zimbabweans prefer humility over pomp.
8. Zimbabwe’s high adoption of education and intolerance to radical religion, has led us to accept dissability, albenism and quick action towards killer diseases.
9. Zimbabweans are literate enough to know or find out whats going on in the global village, since technology is reaching most parts of the still developing realms.
10. The best way to get first hand information about Zimbabwe is to visit the country especially now. So i hope those are first hand facts.